The present invention relates to disk drives, and more particularly, to a disk drive which is applied to a disk of, for example, the so-called MD (minidisk) or the like including a recording and/or reproducing medium encased in a disk cartridge and is provided for recording information on the medium or reproducing the information recorded on the medium.
As a disk drive to be applied to a disk of, for example, the so-called MD (minidisk) or the like including a recording and/or reproducing medium encased in a disk cartridge, there has conventionally been generally known a disk drive provided with a recording and reproducing unit for recording information on the recording and/or reproducing medium encased in a disk cartridge or reproducing the information recorded on the medium, a holder for guiding and holding the disk cartridge that is being inserted, a transfer member capable of transferring the disk cartridge between a mounting and dismounting position where the disk cartridge can be mounted on and dismounted from the holder and an insertion completed position with respect to the holder and a drive mechanism capable of driving the transfer member. For example, the prior art references of Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. HEI 6-267124, Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. HEI 8-102118, Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. HEI 8-171765 and Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. HEI 8-180625 and so on disclose the detailed constructions of such a disk drive.
When inserting the disk cartridge into the holder of the disk drive, there can be considered the possibility that the user might erroneously insert the cartridge in a direction 90 degrees different from the correct direction.
As is well known, the disk cartridge has a rectangular planar shape constituted by a short side (68 mm) and a long side (72 mm), and the direction in which the cartridge is inserted with the long side thereof facing the opening of the holder (i.e., in the direction in which the width of insertion is wider) is the correct direction of insertion of the cartridge. Therefore, when the cartridge is erroneously inserted in the direction 90 degrees different from the correct direction, the disk cartridge is being inserted with the narrow width of insertion.
When such erroneous insertion occurs, there is the possibility of the occurrence of damage of the cartridge and the disk drive due to the forced inserting/ejecting operation of the cartridge. Accordingly, there is a need for the provision of a mechanism for preventing such erroneous insertion. However, with regard to the structure and size of the disk drive, there is a growing demand for the further simplification and compacting of the structure. Therefore, even when providing an erroneous insertion preventing mechanism as described above, it is required to suppress an increase in the number of components as far as possible.
As described above, in the disk drive provided with a transfer member for transferring a disk cartridge between a mounting and dismounting position and an insertion completed position and a drive mechanism capable of driving the transfer member, there is generally provided a lock member capable of locking the cartridge that is being inserted with respect to the transfer member.
Then, the transfer member moves in the direction in which the cartridge is inserted in a state in which the disk cartridge is locked by this lock member, thereby transferring the disk cartridge to the insertion completed position. In this stage, in order to perform smooth and secure transfer of the disk cartridge, it is important for the lock member to be able to move smoothly and securely in the direction in which the cartridge is inserted.
Accordingly, the object of the present invention is to provide a disk drive capable of preventing the erroneous insertion of a disk cartridge in a direction 90 degrees different from the correct direction of the disk cartridge while suppressing an increase in the number of components and smoothly and securely transferring the disk cartridge.
According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a disk drive comprising: a recording and reproducing unit for recording information on a recording and/or reproducing medium encased in a disk cartridge or reproducing the information recorded on the medium; a holder for guiding and holding the disk cartridge that is being inserted; a transfer member (slider) for transferring the disk cartridge between a mounting and dismounting position where the disk cartridge can be mounted on and dismounted from the holder and an insertion completed position where the disk cartridge is completely inserted in the holder while moving together with the disk cartridge; a drive mechanism which has an electric motor and an output transmission mechanism thereof and is capable of driving the transfer member; and a lock member (lock lever) that is pivotally supported by the transfer member and is able to lock the disk cartridge, the lock member pivoting while being engaged with the disk cartridge that has a rectangular planar shape constituted by a short side and a long side when the disk cartridge is being inserted, with a first pivot amount when the disk cartridge is being inserted with a wide width of insertion in the correct direction set smaller than a second pivot amount when the disk cartridge is being inserted with a narrow width of insertion in an incorrect direction, and the holder being provided with a stopper (stop rib) for allowing the lock member to move in the direction in which the cartridge is inserted in a state in which the lock member pivots by the first pivot amount and preventing the lock member from moving in the direction in which the cartridge is inserted in a state in which the lock member pivots by the second pivot amount.
In the first aspect of the present invention, with regard to the lock member that is pivotally supported by the transfer member for transferring the disk cartridge between the mounting and dismounting position and the insertion completed position and locks the cartridge while pivoting so as to be engaged with the disk cartridge that is being inserted, the first pivot amount when the cartridge is being inserted with the wide width of insertion in the correct direction is set smaller than the second pivot amount when the cartridge is being inserted with the narrow width of insertion in the incorrect direction. The holder for guiding and holding the disk cartridge that is being inserted is provided with the stopper for allowing the lock lever to move in the direction in which the cartridge is inserted in the state in which the lock member pivots by the first pivot amount and preventing the lock member from moving in the direction in which the cartridge is inserted in the state in which the lock member pivots by the second pivot amount. With this arrangement, the erroneous insertion can be securely prevented by taking advantage of the fact that the width of insertion of the cartridge varies depending on when the disk cartridge is being inserted in the correct direction or when the disk cartridge is being inserted in the incorrect direction 90 degrees different from the correct direction, causing a difference in the amount of pivot of the lock member.
In this case, by merely providing the holder with the stopper, the erroneous insertion can be prevented by means of the lock member provided for locking the disk cartridge with the transfer member. Accordingly, there is no need for newly incorporating separate components, causing no structural complication of the disk drive.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a disk drive comprising: a recording and reproducing unit for recording information on a recording and/or reproducing medium encased in a disk cartridge or reproducing the information recorded on the medium; a holder for guiding and holding the disk cartridge that is being inserted; a transfer member (slider) for transferring the disk cartridge between a mounting and dismounting position where the disk cartridge can be mounted on and dismounted from the holder and an insertion completed position where the disk cartridge is completely inserted in the holder while moving together with the disk cartridge; a drive mechanism which has an electric motor and an output transmission mechanism thereof and is capable of driving the transfer member; and a lock member (lock lever) that is pivotally supported by the transfer member and is able to lock the disk cartridge while being engaged with the disk cartridge that is being inserted, the holder being provided with a guide member to be engaged with an engagement portion of the lock member in a state in which the lock member locks the disk cartridge, and the lock member moving in the direction in which the cartridge is inserted in a state in which the engagement portion of the lock member is guided by the guide member.
In the second aspect of the present invention, there is provided the lock member that is pivotally supported by the transfer member for transferring the disk cartridge between the mounting and dismounting position and the insertion completed position and locks the cartridge while being engaged with the disk cartridge that is being inserted. The holder for guiding and holding the disk cartridge that is being inserted is provided with the guide member to be engaged with the engagement portion of the lock member in the state in which the lock member locks the disk cartridge. The lock member moves in the direction in which the cartridge is inserted in the state in which the engagement portion thereof is guided by the guide member. Therefore, the lock member (and also the transfer member) can be moved smoothly and securely in the direction in which the cartridge is inserted.